Exhibition

  • Considering a Plot (Dig for Victory)
    Stéphanie Nava
    Artist
    Luis Croquer
    Curator
    Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
    Sep 16, 2011 to Dec 30, 2011
  • GRANTEE
    Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
    GRANT YEAR
    2011

Stéphanie Nava, Considering a Plot (Dig for Victory), 2005–11, France. © Stéphanie Nava.

Considering a Plot (Dig for Victory) presents an interpretation of the kind of workingman's gardens that the English call an allotment. Based on actual dimensions, French artist Stephanie Nava has created a paper garden that is a vast installation of drawings accompanied by objects. While deeply rooted in considerations upon what qualities make up a garden, the installation goes beyond horticultural reflections and encompasses ideas about geopolitics, aesthetics, drawing as a medium, and many other topics. It comprises over 100 drawings and numerous objects covering an area of about 2,600 square feet. Like a real garden, the piece grows and evolves. New sections and drawings are presented at each new exhibition and setting. This project was presented at the Centre d'Art la Ferma du Buisson in Marne-la-Valle and Viafarini DOCVA in Milan (both in 2008) and at the Art Centre Passerelle in Brest (2009).

Stéphanie Nava was born in 1973 in Marseille, France. She has been an artist-in-residence in Barcelona, Spain; Marseille and Sablons (Isere), France's-Hertogenbosch; the Netherlands; and London, England. Additionally, her work resides in the permanent collection of several French cities. She participated in Moleskine's Detour project and her Moleskine notebook was displayed in the project's Istanbul exhibition in 2009. In 2010, her work was featured in solo exhibitions Bourges, Marseille, and Milan. That same year, Nava was featured in group exhibitions at MAGA in Gallarate, Italy; Galerie Nord in Berlin; and the exhibition Spatial City: An Architecture of Idealism, displayed at INOVA, Milwaukee; Hyde Park Center, Chicago; and MOCAD. During 2011, Nava will be featured in group exhibitions in Marseille, Grenoble, and Paris. She currently lives and works in Marseille and London, and is represented by Galleria Riccardo Crespi in Milan.

Luis Croquer was born in El Salvador and studied art history, theory and criticism at the University of New York at Purchase as a Fulbright scholar. He was named as the first permanent director and chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit in 2008 and is curating the Stephanie Nava exhibition. Previously he was with El Museo del Barrio; the American Federation of Arts; the Drawing Center; and the 51 Venice Biennale. Curatorial projects at MOCAD have included exhibitions by Art Spiegelman, Jesper Just, Jef Geys, LaToya Ruby Frazier, and Edgar Arceneaux.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, open since October of 2006, presents art at the forefront of contemporary culture. As a non-collecting institution, MOCAD is responsive to the cultural content of our time, fueling crucial dialogue, collaboration, and public engagement.